Li, Changjia, Fu, Bojie, Wang, Shuai et al. (8 more authors) (2023) Climate-driven ecological thresholds in China’s drylands modulated by grazing. Nature Sustainability. 1363–1372. ISSN 2398-9629
Abstract
Degradation of ecosystems can occur when certain ecological thresholds are passed below which ecosystem responses remain within ‘safe ecological limits’. Ecosystems such as drylands are sensitive to both aridification and grazing, but the combined effects of such factors on the emergence of ecological thresholds beyond which ecosystem degradation occurs has yet to be quantitatively evaluated. This limits our understanding on ‘safe operating spaces’ for grazing, the main land use in drylands worldwide. Here we assessed how 20 structural and functional ecosystem attributes respond to joint changes in aridity and grazing pressure across China´s drylands. Gradual increases in aridity resulted in abrupt decreases in productivity, soil fertility and plant richness. Rising grazing pressures lowered such aridity thresholds for most ecosystem variables, thus showing how ecological thresholds can be amplified by the joint effects of these two factors. We found that 44.4% of China’s drylands are unsuitable for grazing due to climate change-induced aridification, a percentage that may increase to 50.8% by 2100. Of current dryland grazing areas, 8.9% exceeded their maximum allowable grazing pressure. Our findings provide important insights into the relationship between aridity and optimal grazing pressure and identify safe operating spaces for grazing across China’s drylands.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Environment and Geography (York) The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Biology (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 29 May 2024 10:50 |
Last Modified: | 02 Apr 2025 23:27 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01187-5 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s41893-023-01187-5 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:212896 |
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